In Saitama, Japan, not far from a quiet local shop nestled in the bustling heart of the city's Urayasu neighborhood, a peculiar scene was unfolding. On top of a wobbling crate of boxes that looked like they might collapse at any moment, a woman swayed precariously, a half-empty bottle of cheap sake sloshing in her hand. Her name was Marshy. Her messy dark purple hair hung in uneven strands around her face, barely covering her sharp pink eyes, which gleamed with enthusiasm—though whether it was from the alcohol or her strange mission was anyone's guess. She was dressed in nothing but an oversized white t-shirt that barely reached mid-thigh, her legs bare, completely unconcerned with the attention her appearance may have drawn.
In front of her gathered a small crowd of curious and bewildered civilians, their faces a blend of skepticism and amusement. They had been lured in by Marshy's loud proclamation that she had vital information about demons and ghosts—creatures she insisted lurked within the very city streets they walked on. Marshy waved her bottle in the air, slurring her words slightly but still managing to speak with a bizarre kind of charisma.
"Demons and ghosts are real, I tell ya!" she shouted, her voice carrying over the murmuring crowd. "And if you see one, you need to call *me*! Call *my business*! We'll exterminate 'em!"
Beside her, standing in stark contrast to her chaotic energy, was her nephew, Kato Takahashi. His black and gray hair fell lazily over his forehead, and his dark red eyes with thin, almost snake-like pupils glared at the crowd from beneath the hood of a ghost costume. He stood hunched, arms crossed over his chest, his expression one of pure distaste. He was only wearing the ridiculous ghost outfit because Marshy had forced him into it.
"I look like a damn idiot," Kato muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible to anyone other than those closest to him. "Old hag."
Marshy's ears perked up at the insult, but she ignored it for now, her focus still on the crowd. "Look, I'm not just talkin' outta my ass here! My partner and super great demonic nephew here, Kato," she said, gesturing towards him with a wide, excited sweep of her arm, nearly knocking him off balance. "He's the real deal! Half-demon! Just look at him!"
With a sudden burst of energy, Marshy grabbed Kato's face, yanking his hood back and pulling him toward the crowd. She jabbed a finger unceremoniously in his eyes. "See these? They're not contacts, folks! This is what happens when you share blood with a demon!"
Kato felt the pain, saying, "AGH!" He then whispered, "I'll burn you alive.."
The crowd collectively leaned in, squinting at Kato's eyes. A few murmured, unimpressed.
"They're definitely contacts," someone said flatly.
Another person rolled their eyes. "This has to be some kind of performance art. There's no way this is serious."
Kato gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing as Marshy's wild gesturing caused her elbow to swing back, knocking him in the forehead with a dull thunk. His face twisted into a grimace. "Watch it, you clumsy drunk," he hissed, rubbing the sore spot on his head.
"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Marshy said with a sheepish grin, though it was clear she wasn't really sorry. "Anyway, the point is—"
"How is this business not shut down?" a woman whispered to her friend in the crowd. "They're clearly full of shit. Demons? Ghosts? Come on."
Marshy's ears caught the whisper, and her face turned a shade darker, her voice rising in intensity. "Hey, hey, I'm telling you, this is real! You all remember that big blackout a few years ago? The one that made the sky go pitch black for an hour?" She puffed out her chest, waiting for recognition to dawn on their faces.
"That was caused by a solar eclipse," someone shouted back, arms crossed. "Not demons."
Marshy's face fell slightly, but she quickly recovered, her voice growing more desperate. "No, no! Eclipse, my ass! That was a demon! A shadow demon! We saw it with our own eyes! It was ready to kill you all until Kato killed it! He was the Demon or Darkness! Or something…yeah, yeah! He was!"
By now, however, a portion of the crowd was beginning to disperse, shaking their heads, muttering amongst themselves about how ridiculous the whole thing was. They'd seen enough.
"Wait! Come back! You'll regret it when a ghost follows you home!" Marshy called out, her voice cracking a little as the civilians walked away. She turned, glaring at Kato. "This is your fault!" she snapped, pointing a finger at him. "You're not selling it enough! You're just standing there looking all moody and angry!"
Kato chuckled darkly, crossing his arms over his chest again. "It's not my fault, hag! You think they're going to believe us when we're the only ones who can see this stuff? To them, we look like psycho street performers."
Marshy sighed, rubbing her temples. "Okay, yeah, I get it. But we can still bleed 'em dry of their money! We just need one believer, just one!" She raised her bottle to her lips, taking another swig.
Kato rolled his eyes. "Tch. It's been a month since we've made a single yen. And the one job we did get? That was chasing a demonic rat in the sewers. Real glamorous."
Marshy snorted, a grin tugging at the corner of her lips. "Hey, a job's a job. We're just getting started, okay? I'll get us something bigger. You'll see."
Marshy, in a sudden burst of energy, leaned toward him, grinning mischievously. "Hey, you want help getting that stupid ghost outfit off? You keep fussing about it like a grumpy old baby. I've been changing you since you were a baby, nephew."
Kato's eyes narrowed. "No. You're gonna try and poke me in the eye again."
Marshy leaned in closer, her grin widening. "Whaaaaa nonsense! Come on, let me help. I can—"
"I said no!"
Without warning, Marshy lunged at him, grabbing at the edges of his costume. Kato resisted, trying to push her away, but Marshy was relentless. They stumbled backward, rolling onto the ground in a pile of limbs, wrestling like two children fighting over a toy. Kato cursed under his breath, while Marshy laughed, her wild hair falling into her face.
"Get off me, you crazy—!" Kato grunted, trying to shove her off.
"Just let me—!"
Before their absurd brawl could escalate any further, a man approached them, his footsteps slow and deliberate. He stood just a few feet away, watching the chaotic scene with a mixture of confusion and curiosity before clearing his throat.
"Uh… excuse me?" the man said, his voice cutting through their argument. Immediately, Marshy froze, untangling herself from Kato, scrambling to her feet. Kato groaned, sitting up and brushing the dust from his ghost costume.
"Are you… Marshy's Demon Killers?" the man asked, eyeing them both warily.
A switch seemed to flip in Marshy at the mention of her business's name. She instantly stood up straighter, a wide, almost predatory grin spreading across her face. She grabbed Kato by the arm, yanking him to his feet and pulling him closer. Kato, for his part, shot the man an annoyed look
"That's us," Marshy said with surprising confidence, her voice dropping into a genuine tone of professionalism. "Let's get down to business."
The man shifted nervously, glancing between them. "I… I need your help with something."
The two of them stood side by side, Marshy's eyes gleaming with excitement, Kato's expression still half-irritated. The man took a deep breath, readying himself to explain his predicament.
The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon as Marshy, Kato, and the man who had approached them earlier strolled down a narrow sidewalk in Saitama. The air had a slight chill to it, and the soft hum of distant traffic filled the gaps between their conversation. The man, whose name they had learned was Mr. Tanaka, walked a few paces ahead, hands wringing nervously as he spoke. His voice was low, almost a whisper, as if he feared being overheard by something lurking in the shadows.
"Something very dark is brewing," Mr. Tanaka muttered, his eyes darting around as though expecting something to leap out at any moment. "Something… very, very evil. I can feel it. Every day, it's getting worse. It's like there's this… presence. It's hard to explain, but it's as if the air is getting heavier with every passing second."
Marshy's eyes lit up with every cryptic detail, her messy purple hair bouncing as she nodded enthusiastically. "Oh man, this is it! The real deal! I knew we'd get a case like this eventually!" She leaned in closer to Mr. Tanaka, her grin wide and wild. "Tell me more. What else? What else is happening?"
Kato, on the other hand, looked like he was ready to throw himself into oncoming traffic. His dark red eyes rolled upward with every vague statement the man made. Each time Mr. Tanaka spoke, Kato's irritation grew, his patience thinning by the second.
'This is annoying. Why doesn't he just explain what's going on?'
"And it's like… it's all around us," Mr. Tanaka continued, his voice trembling slightly. "Everywhere I go, I feel it. It's creeping up on me… like it's getting closer… and closer…"
Marshy put her hand on Mr.Tanaka's shoulder, "This is all suuuper great and all, but can you tell us what's going on please?"
Mr. Tanaka blinked, seemingly caught off guard by Marshy's eagerness, but he quickly composed himself and gestured toward a nearby building. "This way," he said, leading them toward a small door nestled between two shops.
The sign above the door read "Komorebi Nursery", and as they stepped inside, the sound of laughter and singing greeted their ears. The space was warm and bright, filled with colorful toys, small tables, and a dozen or so children who all seemed unnervingly… happy.
The children were sitting in neat little circles, singing songs in perfect harmony, their faces practically glowing with joy. A few of them were even spinning in place, laughing and holding hands as if they were in the middle of some joyous festival. There were no tantrums. No screaming. No chaos. Only pure, unsettling happiness.
Mr. Tanaka dropped to his knees, his face a mixture of awe and confusion. "They've never been like this," he whispered, his voice cracking. "They're always crying, always screaming, always running around like mad. But now… look at them. They're… they're too happy. Something's wrong."
One of the other daycare workers, a middle-aged woman with tired eyes, nodded in agreement. "It's been like this for days now. We don't know what's going on, but it's not normal."
Marshy, clearly intrigued, clapped her hands together with excitement. "Well, then! We'll get to the bottom of it. This is exactly the kind of weird shit I've been waiting for!"
Kato, however, remained silent, his expression darkening. His teeth were starting to sharpen ever so slightly, a sign that his demonic side was stirring, sensing something out of place. Without a word, he began walking further into the room, his eyes scanning every corner, every shadow.
The children, still singing and laughing, seemed to take an interest in him. One particularly bold little boy ran up to Kato, tugging on the hem of his ghost costume. "Mister, why are you dressed like a ghost?" the boy asked, giggling.
Kato's eyebrow twitched, and he shot a glare toward Marshy, who was watching with an amused smirk. She leaned in and whispered, "Be nice."
Kato clenched his jaw, forcing a tight smile. "Uh… it's… Halloween?" he muttered, trying his hardest to sound friendly.
Another child, a little girl with pigtails, ran up and threw a toy at Kato's head. It bounced off harmlessly, but Kato's eye twitched again. He inhaled deeply, counting to ten in his head.
"Nice, Kato. Be nice," Marshy whispered again from the sidelines, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
Just as Kato was about to lose his patience, another child came running up behind him and, with a loud *pffft*, farted directly at him. The room burst into giggles as Kato's face contorted into a mask of rage. His hands clenched into fists, and for one terrifying moment, it looked like he was about to grab the kid by the collar and throw him across the room.
But then… something stopped him. Something caught his attention, pulling his focus away from the chaos. His eyes darted across the room, locking onto a specific spot—the Jack-in-the-Box sitting in the corner.
It was an old, worn-out toy, the kind that looked like it had been passed down through generations. It sat innocently on a small table, its crank motionless, its brightly painted clown face waiting to pop out. But something about it felt… wrong.
Kato's eyes narrowed, and in an instant, they glowed a bright, menacing red. Without hesitation, he reached into his chest, his hand disappearing momentarily before pulling out a sleek red-and-black katana, its blade pulsating with shadows. He moved with lightning speed, dashing toward the Jack-in-the-Box, his sword raised high.
The daycare workers shrieked in horror. "What are you doing?!"
But Marshy didn't flinch. In fact, she only grinned wider, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. "There he is…" she murmured under her breath, watching as Kato prepared to strike.
With a swift swing, Kato brought the blade down on the Jack-in-the-Box. But before the blade could make contact, something strange happened. The room around him warped, the air twisting and bending in ways that defied logic. In the blink of an eye, Kato and the children were no longer in the daycare.
They had been transported to some bizarre dimension—a world where the sky was an otherworldly swirl of yellow and purple, with large toys floating and slowly twirling in the air like strange, spinning planets. The ground beneath them was soft, almost rubbery, and the children—who moments ago had been giggling and singing—were now standing on their hind legs, dancing and chanting in a circle around the now gigantic Jack-in-the-Box, which loomed over them like some kind of twisted deity.
Kato stood still, his katana gripped tightly in his hand, the red-and-black shadows swirling around the blade like smoke. His eyes, glowing a dangerous crimson, remained fixed on the massive Jack-in-the-Box before him. The air in this strange, surreal dimension felt thick, oppressive, as if the very atmosphere had weight. Above him, the twisted sky of yellow and purple swirled like an endless vortex, and the faint creaking of the Jack-in-the-Box's crank echoed through the dreamlike landscape.
Around him, the children continued their eerie dance, moving in perfect synchronization, their small voices rising in a strange, haunting song. Their eyes were vacant, glassy, as if they were no longer in control of their own bodies. They twirled on their hind legs, their hands clasped together in a circle around the grotesque toy, their laughter and singing growing louder and louder with each passing second.
"♪ Round and round the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel... ♪"
With every verse, the crank of the Jack-in-the-Box turned a little more, the grotesque clown within beginning to stir. At first, only a sliver of its painted face appeared, pale and cracked, its wide grin stretched unnaturally across its face. The once-white makeup was smeared, as though the years had melted it into something unrecognizable. Behind the thick, blood-red lips, rows of jagged, uneven teeth peeked through.
"♪ The monkey thought 'twas all in fun... ♪"
The children's song grew louder, more fevered, and the Jack-in-the-Box creaked again, the clown rising higher. Its face was a twisted mockery of joy, with one eye larger than the other, bulging grotesquely from its socket. The other eye was nothing more than a hollow, black void, oozing a thick, dark substance that dripped down its painted cheek. Its hands—long, skeletal fingers tipped with broken, yellowing nails—clutched the edges of the box as it pulled itself further up, its body a tangle of limbs and tattered, dirty fabric.
"♪ Pop! Goes the weasel! ♪"
The children's voices hit a high note, and Kato's muscles tensed, his eyes narrowing as the Jack-in-the-Box creaked again, the full form of the clown now visible. Its torso was elongated, almost serpentine, its clothes once brightly colored but now faded and torn, stained with dark splotches of grime and something that looked far too much like blood. Around its neck hung a dirty ruffled collar, each layer frayed and shredded, fluttering in the wind of this strange dimension.
And then Kato saw it—the clown was holding something. A long, rusted scythe, its blade jagged and chipped, yet still gleaming with a malevolent sharpness. The clown's fingers curled around the handle, gripping it tightly as it rose fully from the box, its head tilting unnaturally to the side, as if examining Kato with twisted delight.
The children reached the climax of their song, their voices melding into a single, loud, joyous shout. "POP!"
In that instant, the clown lunged forward, its grin widening into a grotesque leer. With terrifying speed, it swung the scythe in a wide arc, the blade slicing effortlessly through the air, the blade met his torso with a sickening, wet schlunk.
Blood exploded from Kato's midsection as the scythe cleaved him cleanly in half, the force of the blow sending his upper body flying backward. His crimson eyes widened in shock as he felt the cold steel tear through his flesh, his body splitting into two grotesque halves. His katana slipped from his hand, clattering to the ground as his blood sprayed in a wide arc, painting the bizarre landscape in a violent splash of red.
His legs crumpled where they stood, and his upper half hit the ground with a dull *thud*, his lifeless eyes staring blankly up at the swirling sky. Blood pooled around him, soaking into the soft, rubbery ground beneath, spreading in thick, dark rivers.
The children, oblivious to the brutality that had just unfolded, let out another loud, happy cheer, their laughter echoing through the twisted dimension. They continued to dance and sing, their small feet tapping rhythmically as if nothing had happened, as if Kato's bisected corpse was just another part of the game.
The clown twirled its scythe, the blade dripping with Kato's blood, and let out a low, guttural chuckle, its hollow eye socket oozing more of the foul substance as it stared down at the remains of its victim.
In the distance, Marshy stood, her smirk never faltering. She watched the scene unfold with an unsettling calm, her pink eyes gleaming with curiosity rather than concern.
"There he is," she muttered to herself, her voice barely audible over the children's singing.
Mr. Tanaka asked Marshy, "W-What's happening?! Why is your assistant just standing there?!"
Marshy replied, "Calm down and wait. He's doing some killing."
"D-Does he need help? What about the children?! The children are just standing there too!"
Marshy chuckled, slapping the HELL out of Mr. Tanaka's back, saying, "Help?! Yeah, sure. He definitely needs help. If anything, that clown needs help."
"Clown?" Tanaka and his workers muttered.
Kato lay on the ground in two pieces, his upper half drenched in his own blood, his eyes wide and staring up at the swirling yellow and purple sky. The children continued to sing their eerie, haunting melody, their voices layering atop one another in a sick harmony, oblivious to the carnage. The massive clown, still gripping its rusted scythe, loomed over him, a grotesque grin spreading across its cracked, painted face. Dark, viscous fluid dripped from its hollow eye socket as it tilted its head, observing Kato's ruined body with twisted satisfaction.
But then, something shifted.
Kato's laughter started low—just a soft, unsettling chuckle that seemed to bubble up from his throat. His eyes, still glowing that venomous red, gleamed with a manic energy as his laughter grew louder, more deranged. His severed torso twitched, and then, impossibly, the flesh at the edges of his wound began to knit itself back together. Black shadows, thick and writhing like living tendrils, snaked out from his body, pulling his two halves together with unnatural speed. The shadows stitched him back up, sewing his flesh with dark, sinewy threads that pulsed with crimson energy. His bones cracked and reset, his muscles tightened, and in moments, he was whole again.
The clown's grin faltered. It took a step back, its grotesque features twisting in shock. "I knew it…" the clown rasped, its voice a mix of awe and fear. "You're the one… the one who killed the Demon of Darkness…"
Kato rose to his feet, covered in blood, his chest still heaving from the brutal blow. His smile was wide and wild, his teeth bared like a predator about to strike. His katana was back in his hand, the blade emanating a sinister glow, the red and black shadows dancing along its edge. The red shadows dripped like blood, leaving trails of crimson in the air, while the black shadows pulsed with a rotting decay, ready to consume anything they touched.
Without a word, Kato lunged forward, faster than the eye could follow, his body a blur of motion. The battle had begun.
Kato dashed toward the clown, his katana slicing through the air with deadly precision. The clown raised its scythe in defense, the rusted blade meeting Kato's katana with a deafening clang. Sparks flew as the two weapons collided, the force of the blow reverberating through the ground beneath them.
The clown twisted its scythe, attempting to disarm Kato with a quick parry, but Kato was faster. He spun on his heel, letting the scythe slide past him, and immediately countered with a vicious upward slash. The katana's red shadows trailed behind, slicing through the clown's chest, leaving a deep, jagged wound. Blood sprayed out in a violent arc, splattering onto the soft, rubbery ground.
The clown stumbled back, gripping its chest, but Kato didn't give it time to recover. He grinned, his eyes wild with madness, and charged again, swinging his katana in a series of rapid, fluid motions—each strike aimed to maim, to bleed, to rot.
The clown barely managed to dodge, its grotesque form moving with surprising agility. It ducked under one of Kato's swings and retaliated with a brutal horizontal slash of its scythe, aiming for Kato's midsection.
But Kato anticipated the move. He allowed the blade to graze his side, blood spraying from the wound, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he twisted his body around the scythe, letting the momentum carry him into a perfect counter. With a quick, brutal thrust, he drove his katana deep into the clown's side, the black shadows on the blade immediately causing the flesh around the wound to rot and decay.
The clown screamed, a high-pitched, unnatural sound that echoed through the strange dimension.
The children's singing grew louder, their voices almost feverish as Kato and the clown clashed again. Kato laughed hysterically, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust as he pressed the attack. He moved like a whirlwind, his katana slicing through the air in a blur of red and black shadows. The clown, despite its grotesque form, danced around him, its long limbs twisting and contorting in unnatural ways to dodge and evade the lethal strikes.
The scythe came down in a vicious arc, aiming for Kato's head. Kato ducked, feeling the rush of air as the blade passed mere inches above him. He dropped to the ground in a low crouch and swept his katana in a wide arc, aiming for the clown's legs. The clown leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding the strike, and spun its scythe downward, attempting to impale Kato from above.
Kato rolled to the side, his body moving with a speed and grace that defied logic. He sprang to his feet and immediately dashed forward, closing the distance between him and the clown in the blink of an eye. His katana flashed, and he delivered a brutal horizontal slash across the clown's midsection, splitting open its grotesque belly. Intestines spilled out, black and rotting, but the clown barely reacted, its twisted grin never faltering.
The clown swung its scythe in a wide, sweeping motion, forcing Kato to jump back to avoid being cleaved in two. But as soon as Kato landed, the clown was on him again, its scythe a blur of motion. Kato allowed the blade to slice across his arm, blood spraying from the wound, but he didn't care.
The moment the clown committed to the attack, Kato's grin widened. He twisted his body into the scythe's trajectory, using the momentum to deliver a devastating counterstrike. His katana arced through the air, slashing diagonally across the clown's torso, the red shadows on the blade leaving a deep, bleeding gash that oozed thick black blood.
The clown staggered back, clutching the wound, its grotesque face twisted in pain. But Kato wasn't done. He dashed forward again, his laughter echoing through the air, and delivered a brutal kick to the clown's chest, sending it flying backward into a nearby toy structure, which crumbled on impact.
The clown recovered quickly, leaping into the air with unnatural agility. It swung its scythe downward, aiming to split Kato in half once more. Kato grinned, his body a blur of motion as he launched himself into the air to meet the clown mid-flight.
Their weapons collided again in a shower of sparks, the force of the impact causing the air around them to vibrate. Kato twisted his body in mid-air, swinging his katana in a wide arc. The red and black shadows trailed behind the blade like ribbons, slicing through the clown's arm with surgical precision. Blood sprayed out in all directions, staining the sky as the clown's severed arm fell to the ground below.
The clown screamed in fury, but Kato only laughed harder. He landed gracefully on the ground, his katana dripping with blood, and immediately dashed forward, closing the distance between him and the now one-armed clown.
Kato's feet barely touched the ground as he moved, his speed blinding as he launched a flurry of rapid strikes at the clown. Each slash of his katana was precise, brutal, and calculated. The red shadows on the blade caused deep, bleeding gashes, while the black shadows left the clown's flesh rotting and decaying with every strike.
The clown, now desperate, swung its scythe wildly, attempting to keep Kato at bay. But Kato was relentless, dodging and weaving around every strike with ease. He allowed the scythe to graze his shoulder, feeling the sting of the blade cutting into his flesh, but he didn't care. The moment the scythe connected, Kato twisted his body into a perfect counterstrike, driving his katana deep into the clown's chest.
Blood exploded from the wound, and the clown let out a final, gurgling scream as it collapsed to the ground.
Kato stood over the clown, his chest heaving, his blood-covered katana resting at his side. The clown, now barely clinging to life, struggled to rise, its grotesque face twisted in agony. But Kato was far from finished.
With a twisted grin, Kato raised his hand, and from the shadows of his own body, he summoned a second katana—identical to the first, its blade pulsating with red and black energy. The shadows writhed around the blade like living things, hungry for blood.
Kato laughed, his voice echoing through the twisted dimension. He dashed forward, both katanas raised high, and in one fluid motion, he plunged both blades directly into the clown's face. The clown let out a final, blood-curdling scream as the blades sank deep into its skull.
With a grin, Kato leaped into the air, spinning in a perfect 360-degree arc. The twin katanas sliced cleanly through the clown's neck, severing its head from its body in one clean motion. Blood sprayed out in a violent explosion, drenching the ground and the children in a thick, crimson mist.
The clown's head hit the ground with a sickening thud, its body collapsing in a pool of blood and rot. Kato landed gracefully, his katanas dripping with blood, his grin wide and feral.
The children, still singing, continued their eerie melody as the blood-soaked katana-wielding demon stood victorious. But then, the children fell unconscious, sleeping peacefully.
At once, back in the real world, Mr. Tanaka and the workers saw the children saw the children sleeping on the floor peacefully, and Kato said, "There ya go."
One of the workers asked him, "What was it?!"
"A clown devil. You're welcome."
Marshy dashed up to Kato, saying with genuine concern, "Are you alright?"
"Yep. I'm great."
Then Marshy turned to Mr. Tanaka smiled with her hand out, "Great! Demon taken care of! Now…the money."
Kato covered his face, turning around in embarrassment.